Fire and Ice
by maila08
Summary: He knew he would find her like this. The Avatar, at least this Avatar, never thought things through. Always reckless, stubborn, infuriating…but vulnerable. As much as Korra wanted others to believe she was indestructible, that wasn't the case. No one, not even the Avatar, the most powerful Bender in the Nations could be immortal or indestructible.


_Sigh...today the sky has another bright star named Lee Thompson Young aka Detective Frost from Rizzoli and Isles...He was a fantastic actor and a wonderful person...I dont know what let him to the decision he took today...may he rest in peace._

* * *

He knew he would find her like this. The Avatar, at least this Avatar, never thought things through. Always reckless, stubborn, infuriating…but vulnerable. As much as Korra wanted others to believe she was indestructible, that wasn't the case. No one, not even the Avatar, the most powerful Bender in the Nations could be immortal or indestructible. They were part human and part Spirit, not part God. So when Mako and the rest of Team Avatar found the teen huddled against Naga, trying to shield herself against the unforgiving bitter cold, no one was surprised that as always, she had run off to try to fix the Spiritual unbalance on her own.

"Korra!" the Firebender called as he ran toward the white beast, covering its owner as much as it could from the blizzard. Naga whined, gently licking her best friend, trying to get her to awaken. It had been some time since she had been awake, and even the animal knew it wasn't a good sign.

"She's half frozen," Asami noted as her companion lifted the unconscious Avatar into his arms.

"We need to find some place to set up the tents," Mako said, a mix of worry and urgency in his voice.

"I think I f-f-found something!" Bolin cried his voice shaking as bad as he was. The Earthbender had never been fan of the cold in the city, much less in the South Pole!

Mako and Asami went over to where the younger brother was, motioning to the side of a mountain with patches of rock. If they didn't build a shelter soon not only would Korra freeze, but all of them with her. The Firebender whistled at the beast before turning to look at the shaking Earthbender.

"Bo, can you build us something?" he asked. "Two tents, one for you two and one for us?"

"You-you want a bed with that," his brother replied a hint of annoyance in his voice. He could barely feel his hands and feet!

The Earthbender took in deep breaths before stomping his feet and lifting up slabs of earth, making two huts connected in the middle. Mako gave him a grateful nod and instructed them both to go inside and start unclasping the blankets from their motor vehicles as he took his half frozen girlfriend inside.

Soon enough everything that they needed was brought inside while the snowpeds were parked next to the huts. Bolin grabbed his share of blankets and practically buried himself in them. He was worried about his friend, all of them were, but when his fingers started to turn red and started to hurt, he knew that if he didn't warm up fast, he wouldn't be able to help anyone.

"C-C-Col-Col-Cold," Korra managed to mutter as her body shook arms tight against her chest.

The Firebender and heiress had placed her next to Naga while they made a fortress of blankets for her. Mako knew that they needed to warm her up fast or she could get sick, and they were miles away from any help at all.

"I know," Asami answered as she knelt down next to her friend.

"Take her clothes off," Mako said as he starting stripping from his own clothing.

The Sato heiress actually blushed a bright red at this as she turned away. What the heck was he thinking? Why would he want to take Korra's clothes off? She was freezing!

"She needs body heat," he explained when he had taken off most of his clothes, leaving him in his tattered white muscle shirt and black shorts.

Asami gave him and nod and gently pried the Waterbender's arms away from her chest, lifting the parka over her head. The Water Tribe girl let out a whimper at this and her shaking increased. Both her raven haired friend and boyfriend soothed Korra the best they could as they took off her clothing until she was left in her undergarments. The Sato heiress gave Mako a worried look when she saw the almost purple color on her friend's fingers and toes.

The Firebender gently lifted up the teen and placed her on the improvised bed they made before covering her up and going under the cover as well, bringing her close to his chest. The young Avatar wasted no time in huddling closer to him, making him jump a little at the contact.

"Korra, you're freezing!" he said as he held her close to him.

"I'm going to check on Bolin," Asami said. "Just shout if you need anything."

Mako nodded at the heiress before he pulled the girl in his arms even closer, trying to give her as much body heat as he could. He rubbed her arms, willing his chi to warm them up both but nothing seemed to be working. Korra wasn't getting warmer, her shaking hadn't seized and to top things off she had said all but one word since they found her. That alone was worrisome.

Meanwhile, Bolin still lay buried under his blankets, finally starting to feel his limbs again. He watched as his friend made tea, having told his brother to make a flame before he went to his hut with Korra. She looked worried and he knew why. Their friend wasn't looking too good.

"How's Korra?" he asked after a moment.

Asami let out a sigh before filling one of the cups and bringing it over to him. "Last time I checked she was still trembling," she answered quietly. "I don't think she's gotten warm at all."

"Hmm," Bolin hummed taking a sip of his tea before smiling. "Don't worry, it's Korra we're talking about here. She's going to be fine."

"I hope so," Asami answered looking at the opposite room.

"Hey, it's okay," Mako soothed when Korra got into another round of shaking.

After what seemed hours of sharing body heat, she was finally starting to get warm. The Firebender couldn't help but smile at this, bringing his hand up against his girlfriend's cheek, noticing that her skin was not as cold as it had been before. He rubbed his thumb against her skin, his smile widening when she sighed and snuggled closet to him, tangling her legs with his. She was going to be okay. She would always be okay as long as he was with her…and their friends.

"How is she?" a familiar voice asked.

The Firebender looked up to find the heiress, blanket wrapped around her, holding two cups of what smelled like tea.

"Finally getting warm," he answered kissing the teen's temple.

Asami smiled and knelt down next to them, handing Mako his cup while she gently turned Korra over, raising her head to get her to drink some of the warm liquid. The Water Tribe girl eagerly drank the tea, liking the warm feeling as it went down her throat. The heiress couldn't help but chuckle at this before placing her down once more, collecting the cups and putting them aside.

Mako wrapped his arms around the Waterbender's smaller figure, smiling when she buried her face into his chest. Asami smiled at this, seeing how affectionate both her friends were with each other. Despite the love…whatever shape it was, the heiress didn't mind seeing them together. The Waterbender stirred and slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times before her vision cleared.

"Hey you," Asami greeted.

"'Sami?" Korra asked looking back before focusing her attention to the warm body next to her. "Mako?"

"I'm so glad you're finally awake," the heiress continued. "We were worried."

"How'd you find me?" the Waterbender asked with a yawn. She looked and sounded tired.

"I think Mako can explain everything to you," Asami replied standing up. "I'm going to go get some sleep. You two should probably do the same."

Korra smiled and yawned again before snuggling her face against her Firebender's chest. His warmth, however, was short lived when he pulled away, causing her to whimper. What was he doing? She was still cold! And he was so warm…

"Mako," she whimpered trying to get closer to him.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he asked as he sat up. "You nearly froze to death!"

"Can we not argue right now?" Korra asked, curling herself into a ball, her body shaking slightly. "I'm still cold!"

"Warm yourself up!" Mako snapped.

"Mako, please," she begged.

The Firebender watched as his girlfriend began to shake from the cold, whimpers escaping her throat as she tried to warm herself up. He let out a sigh and lifted up the blankets once more and covering them both up. Korra wasted no time in snuggling closer to him, hugging him and pressing herself tightly against him. He was so warm…

"I'm still mad at you," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Mmmhmm," Korra replied. She was too tired to speak, much less argue. All she wanted was to be warm. She had been out in the cold for so long…

"Why'd you run off like that?" Mako continued. "We were all worried! Your dad nearly choked me for not keeping an eye on you!"

The Waterbender couldn't help but laugh at that. Yep, that sounded just like her dad.

"Did he threaten to feed you to Naga?" she teased looking up at him.

"He would have if it wasn't for your mom," he answered with a scowl. "You are never running off like that, is that clear? Especially in this type of weather."

"I-I just…I wanted to fix this," Korra whispered lowering her gaze. "It could mean war if I don't. And not just any war…civil war…The North and Southern Water Tribes will fight each other."

"I know," he answered caressing her cheek. "But you don't have to do it all alone. We can help you."

"It's Spiritual stuff," the Waterbender answered. "You know you can't go with me into the Spirit World."

"Iroh did," Mako replied, his amber gaze colliding with her electrifying blues. She raised a brow. "The General told me," he added sheepishly. "I've been doing my research."

"So I see," she replied as she nuzzled her head against his shoulder.

"Promise you won't do it again?"

"Mako, I get that you worry about me. But you know how I am. I'm not the type that likes being the damsel in distress."

"Oh really?" the Firebender replied moving away.

"Except now!" she blurted clinging onto him.

He chuckled at this and pressed a gentle kiss on her temple, tracing patterns on her back, watching her cheeks begin to flush from both the warmth and her embarrassment when she noticed their state of undress. The Firebender stifled a laugh and brought her closer to him.

"Thank you for coming," Korra muttered sleepily, the heat pulling her under.

"Always," Mako answered kissing her forehead.

Before long the Waterbender was fast asleep, finally warm after hours of lying in the snow and inside the improvised hut trying to get warm. Her cheeks were a rosy color and Mako knew that by the time morning came she'd be sweating so he decided to throw off some blankets watching the ball of white lift her head up.

"She's ok," he reassured the beast that wagged her tail before curling into a ball as well.

Mako brought up a hand once more to caress his girlfriend's cheek. Yes, she was still the stubborn, reckless Avatar, but she was also the most caring, unselfish girl he had ever met. He knew they were complete opposites, he was fire, warm and protective, and she was ice, blunt and strong. They were Fire and Ice…but no relationship was perfect, theirs was far from it. But it was in their imperfect relationship that they found love. And that was all that mattered. Their love for each other.


End file.
